Ben Mackay insists promotion to the SPFL would be hugely beneficial for Brora Rangers and would make the Cattachs more financially sustainable.
The Breedon Highland League champions start their pyramid play-off campaign against Lowland League winners East Kilbride at K Park in the first leg of the semi-final on Saturday.
Brora competed in the play-offs in 2015 and 2021 and there have been suggestions in the past that the Dudgeon Park outfit weren’t particularly enthused by the prospect of promotion.
Mackay has been the Sutherland club’s benefactor since 2012 and a driving force in establishing the Cattachs as one of the top sides in the Highland League.
Huge financial difference
He dismissed the notion that Brora don’t want to go up and revealed promotion would be very favourable from a financial perspective.
Mackay said: “In terms of finance and running the club there’s a huge difference being in League Two compared with the Highland League.
“You don’t get anything for winning the Highland League.
“But in League Two, even if you’re near the bottom with the payments you get from the SPFL, Challenge Cup entry, League Cup entry, Scottish Cup second round entry you’re about £100,000 better off a season to be near the bottom of League Two than near the top of the Highland League.
“In terms of the running of the club it’s more sustainable being in League Two.
“You can talk about extra travel and extra bus costs but that’s all covered and more with the finance you get for being in the SPFL.
“Is it easier to survive as a club in League Two? Absolutely it is and that’s something people maybe don’t appreciate it.
“I’ve told the supporters that there’s a better chance of sustaining Brora Rangers as a fantastic football club for the next 50 to 100 years inside the SPFL than outside the SPFL because of the funding available.
“It’s easier in terms of the financial side of the club to be second bottom of League Two than it is to be second in the Highland League. That’s the reality of the situation.
“In life I think you’ve got to try to be the best you can be and if we show ourselves to be good enough to get to League Two then we have to give it a go.”
Cattachs in a good place to make promotion push
Mackay believes Brora now have the infrastructure in place on and off the pitch to become an SPFL club.
In recent years they have upgraded the facilities at Dudgeon Park, which has included a major investment in a new pitch, which this season received a platinum rating from the Scottish FA.
Mackay added: “From an infrastructure point of view we’ve got the facilities in place now to move up.
“When you look at the past and the infrastructure we had we weren’t ready to get promoted 10 years ago.
“But now we are ready for it and everyone at the club is ready for it. If you look at the squad we’ve got a great mix of youth and experience and they all want to go to that next level.
“The village is behind it and I think the county of Sutherland is behind it. We all want it and we’re ready to try to make it happen.”
Fan backing
Mackay also believes the local community are supportive of Brora’s bid for promotion.
“The fanbase was maybe one part of the club that wasn’t been as keen on going up as other parts,” he said.
“You hear stories about going to Stranraer on a Wednesday night and things like that.
“But I’ve spoken to the supporters and said ‘let’s go through it logically.’
“There are 36 league games in a season, 18 at home and 18 away. At the most there are probably six to eight league games midweek.
“Even if there were 10 there’s a chance five would be at home and five would be away.
“At most it’s probably five midweek away games in a year. You can build these things up and people can get nervous about it, but the reality is that it’s not as bad as you might imagine.”
Work to gain licence
To compete in the pyramid play-offs and to potentially be an SPFL club Brora have had to obtain their bronze club licence from the Scottish FA.
It’s an undertaking that is far from straightforward, given the myriad criteria that have to be met.
Mackay said: “A huge amount of work has gone into achieving the bronze licence from everyone at the club. But I have to give a special mention to our secretary Kevin Mackay and our treasurer Deirdre Mackay because without them we wouldn’t have managed it.
“Getting the bronze licence was a full-time job for four or five months for Kevin and Deirdre.
“They’re really good at administrative work and if hadn’t been for them we would never have achieved it.
“We had a long list of things we needed to do and we were ticking them off week by week until we got them all sorted.
“Some of the hoops you have to jump through are frustrating, but in fairness to the Scottish FA they were phenomenal in helping us achieve the licence.
“They gave us great direction and support and I can’t talk highly enough of the SFA for the help they gave us.”
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